by Ciana Stone
Twilight fell and one of the park rangers who worked there walked over and told them they would have to leave. Michael flashed his badge and told the ranger it was police business. The man frowned but said nothing and turned to walk back to the visitor’s center.
Nick and Michael heard a muffled cry from the direction of the center and they both jumped up. Coming toward them were four men, two wielding cut-off metal pipes and the other two sporting handguns. All were dressed entirely in black and their faces were covered with black ski masks.
Michael knew without looking that Nick had switched into battle mode. He could feel the electricity in the air around them, and while he hoped they could avoid violence if at all possible, he was nonetheless grateful to have Nick by his side—just in case.
“You Santera?” one of the men asked, slapping his pipe against his opened palm.
“Who’s asking?” Michael replied calmly.
The man laughed and looked at the men with him. “Get this guy. He thinks he’s Dirty Harry or something.”
“Well, maybe we should show him how he can squeal like a pig instead,” another of the men sneered.
“And maybe we should just add you to this foundation,” Nick said in a hiss.
“Let’s get down to business.” The leader took charge of the men in black. “You’re sticking your nose where it doesn’t belong and we can’t have that. So, we’re here to make sure you don’t interfere in things that don’t concern you.”
“Well, it’s going to take a lot more than you and your chicken-shit band for that,” Nick replied icily. “So, come on.”
The leader turned to the men with the pipes. “Let’s teach these assholes what pain is before they die.”
The men moved in, but before they had taken more than three steps, Nick had launched himself into the air. His left foot took down one man, and before he landed from the kick, he turned in midair and caught the second man in the chest with a driving punch.
Both men hit the ground and rolled, standing up a little slowly. The braver of the two charged Michael, deciding to take care of him first. Michael watched him coming and waited with his feet planted firmly. Just as the man raised his pipe over his head to strike, Michael ducked and stepped forward. His broad shoulder met the man’s midsection and Michael stood up, lifting the man into the air and sending him flying.
The second man made another move toward Nick but wasn’t fast enough. Nick’s hands moved at lightning speed, driving one punch after another into the man’s face. Teeth broke and bones cracked, blood flying as the man staggered. One last punch to the center of the chest and the man wheezed then fell over at Nick’s feet.
The leader raised his gun, yelling for his partner to do the same. Nick made a dive for him. He heard the report of a weapon behind him and saw the leader go down with a bullet between his eyes. The last man took one look at his fallen comrades and turned tail to run.
Nick chased after him, tackling him as he was scrambling to get in his car. He pinned the man to the pavement and yanked the mask from his face. “Who are you? Who sent you?”
“Fuck you, asshole!”
Nick grabbed the man by the throat and squeezed firmly. “I’m going to ask you once more. Who are you and who sent you?”
Michael ran up and stopped beside Nick. Nick looked up at Michael and in that instant the man grabbed his fallen gun. Nick turned just as the man stuck the barrel in his own mouth and pulled the trigger. Nick dove away as blood and brains splattered the car, the ground, and him.
Michael knelt down beside him. “Do you know who that was?”
“He didn’t introduce himself.” Nick stood up and looked down at the dead man. “I need to make a call.”
“You want to tell me who it is you’re calling?”
“You don’t want to know.” Nick turned his attention to his phone conversation.
Michael shook couldn’t make out what Nick was saying, his voice was so low. But he did catch a couple of words and phrases. He heard the words ‘hard target’, which he knew to be a phrase used to describe a situation in which there was difficulty in penetrating the group the agent was trying to infiltrate. And he heard Nick say something about thinking it was best the target was terminated with extreme prejudice.
Nick must have gotten some argument after that comment because his voice got lower and his body tensed. At last, he ended the conversation, saying something about getting some watchers in the area and setting himself up as an asset. Michael wasn’t sure what that was about.
As he hung up the phone, Nick took a deep breath and his expression was less fierce when he turned and looked at Michael, but it wasn’t changed enough. Michael knew then that Nick had never given up his old line of work at all. He was not just a stringer, an occasional or freelance operative. He was still the genuine article.
“So what now?”
“The bodies will be retrieved and the ID’s checked out. We’ll know by tomorrow morning everything there is to know about them. In the meantime we’ve got to find Lyra before whoever’s running these guys does.”
They got in the Jeep and Michael looked over at Nick as he pulled onto the road from the park. “You’re still a Company man, aren’t you?”
“I thought we’d already covered that.”
“So did I. Just like I thought we were too good of friends to lie to one another. You said you’d turned in your card, man. That you just acted as a stringer in a clinch.”
“That wasn’t a lie.”
“And is this one of those clinches?”
Nick looked at him. “You know I can’t talk about it.”
“So what can you tell me?”
“That if we don’t both do our jobs a whole lot more people are going to die. This thing’s gotten personal. I’m gonna find that bastard and I am going to take him out—regardless of what anyone says. You get my drift?”
Michael nodded. “Yeah, and for once, old buddy, I wholeheartedly agree.”
Sea Island
Chelsey pulled her car in the garage and parked it. Lyra had insisted they return to the house when she had called the studio and gotten no answer. She called the police station where Michael worked and was told he had left over an hour ago. Then she had called the house again and gotten a recorded message saying that the number she had dialed was either out of order or no longer in service. She called the operator and asked her to check the line and the operator told her that the phone must be off the hook.
That was when she dragged Chelsey from the restaurant. All the way back she fidgeted, sure that something terrible had happened. She unlocked the garage door and bounded into the kitchen. “Nick!”
Hands suddenly grabbed her and almost jerked her down. She tugged, trying to break free and heard a scream behind her. The man holding her yanked her around and she saw Chelsey. A man in black, wearing a ski mask, had hold of her arm, pressing a gun to her head.
Lyra froze, not knowing what to do. The man holding her pulled her through the house into the den and shoved her down on the couch. She watched fearfully as Chelsey was pushed into the room, the gun still at her head.
“What do you want?” Lyra’s voice was thick with fear.
“I want you to get the diary. Then you’re going to go with us.”
“I don’t know where it is.”
The man looked over at Chelsey for a moment. “I think you do, Lyra. And unless you want to see your friend’s brains become part of the wallpaper you’ll do exactly like I tell you. Do you understand?”
Lyra nodded and the man jerked her up. She went with him upstairs and walked to the desk in her room, opening the top drawer. She scrambled around in it frantically for a moment then looked at the man. “It was right here!”
He stepped over and jerked the drawer out, dumping its contents on the floor. “Don’t fuck with me, honey, or I’ll rip your friend’s heart out and shove it down her throat.”
Lyra swallowed and nodded. “But I’m telling you the
truth. I left it here in the desk this morning!”
They both heard a noise downstairs and the man grabbed her, holding her in front of him as he started for the door.
Downstairs, Nick and Michael had arrived at the house, leaving the Jeep on the street and coming in on foot, just in case someone was inside. They saw the open door of the garage and crept in silently, entering the house.
Stopping in the hall, Nick heard Chelsey crying. He edged to the door of the den and looked in then backed up and whispered to Michael. Michael nodded and passed him, pausing as he reached the door. He stepped past it and worked his way to the other entrance.
Nick waited as Michael stepped into the den from the front entrance then silently slipped in from the rear. The man holding the gun on Chelsey yelled “Hold it!”as he saw Michael.
Michael held up his hands and moved farther into the room. “I said, hold it!” the man yelled. “I’ll blow her brains out, man!”
Michael stopped as he saw Nick move up silently behind the man. “Okay, okay. I’m not moving. Now why don’t you let the girl go?”
The man laughed and at that moment, Nick grabbed his hand, jerking the gun away from Chelsey’s head. Michael dove at her, tackling her to the floor as the gun went off. The man whirled and took a swing at Nick. Nick jabbed him in the side with his free hand, still clamped on to his wrist with the other.
They fought over the gun for a few moments, getting it trapped between them. Michael felt like he was watching an old movie as the gun went off. He didn’t know which one had been shot but he prayed it wasn’t Nick. The man in the mask staggered back and fell against the wall. As he slid to the floor, he left a bloody track on the wallpaper. Nick didn’t wait to see if he was still alive. He took off up the stairs three at a time.
Lyra and the second man were standing just inside her bedroom door. She had heard the shots and was sure Chelsey was dead. Tears stung her eyes and she shook as the man shoved her out into the hall.
They passed two opened doorways and moved toward the stairs. Just as they passed the second door, Nick jumped out and grabbed the man around the throat. All three of them went down in a heap. Lyra elbowed the man holding her in the ribs and rolled away, seeing Nick still hanging onto him.
The man rolled over on his stomach and tried to push himself up. Nick’s arms moved in a powerful motion and Lyra heard a peculiar grating noise. A split second later, the man collapsed to the floor.
For a moment, she stood rooted in place as Nick stood. She didn’t know whether to embrace him or run from him after what she’d seen him do. “God, I was so afraid,” she whispered. “When you called we went right over to the restaurant and waited but you never showed up. Then when we got back those men were here and…”
“Wait!” Nick moved to capture her hands in his. “I think you better start at the beginning. But first, I have to make a call. Why don’t you go downstairs and check on Chelsey. She’s with Michael. I’ll be down in a minute.”
“Who do you have to call?”
“Lyra, please, just do like I asked and don’t ask any questions.”
“But why won’t you tell me?”
“Please.”
After a moment, she turned and walked downstairs. Michael was sitting on the couch, holding Chelsey as she cried against his chest. He looked up as she entered. The sight of him holding Chelsey sent a sharp bolt of jealously racing through her. She mentally scolded herself. Chelsey had just been through a terrible trauma and needed comfort. Surely, she wouldn’t begrudge her friend the solace that could be found in the safety of his arms.
She tried to ignore the selfish whine of an inner voice that insisted she could use some comfort as she walked over to sit down across from him.
“Nick?” he asked.
“He said he had to make a call. Michael, who is he calling and why is he so secretive about it?”
Michael looked at her for a moment then shook his head. “I don’t think I’m the one to answer that question. You’ll have to get those answers from Nick.”
She made no comment and moments later Nick entered the room. His face wore the look of some ancient warrior—his eyes blazed and an electric charge seemed to hover around him. He caught Michael’s eye and some unheard message passed between them. Michael nodded and looked away, and then Nick walked over to Lyra. “I think it’d be best if you took Chelsey upstairs until we get things cleaned up.”
“Get things cleaned up? What does that mean? The bodies? Just how are you going to ‘clean’ this up? They’re dead, Nick!” She turned to look at Michael. “Shouldn’t you call and report this or something? You are a policeman.”
“It’s already been reported,” Nick said quietly. “Someone will be here soon to remove the bodies and I think it’s best if you and Chelsey aren’t around for that, so will you please take her up to her room?”
Lyra crossed her arms and stared at him for a moment then nodded. “Okay, but after whoever it is leaves, I want some answers.”
Nick didn’t agree or disagree; he just took her hand and helped her up. “I’ll let you know when everything’s taken care of.”
She made no reply and dropped his hand. “Come on, Chels,” she said softly as she took Chelsey’s arm. “Let’s go upstairs so you can relax.”
“Relax?” Chelsey’s voice was loud and shrill. “A man threatens to blow my brains out and you expect me to relax? You’re as crazy as they are, Lyra! What we should be doing is getting as far away from this place as we can. We should just go to the airport and get the first flight out!”
“We’ll talk about it upstairs, okay?” Lyra was beginning to think that maybe that was a good idea.
“Fine!”
They went upstairs and Michael turned to Nick. “You do realize that you’re going to have to give her some explanation, don’t you?”
“I’ll cross that bridge when I get to it.”
“Dammit, Nick! Will you back out of your killing-machine mode for a minute and think? She’s supposed to be someone you care about. Don’t you think that means you at least owe her the truth?”
Nick sat down and stared evenly at Michael. “You’re my best friend, Michael, and I value that friendship more than you know. And since I do, I’m going to say this once and only once. You above all people know that there are certain things I can’t discuss—not with you, with Lyra, with anyone. Not because I don’t want to but because if I did I’d be putting whomever it is at terrible risk. And just so we’ll be clear on this, I want you to know that I do care about Lyra, more than I thought I was capable of. I’d do anything for her and I’ll do anything to protect her. But I won’t put her in any more danger than she’s already in. I can’t do that to her, and if keeping her safe means keeping certain things unsaid then that’s how it’ll have to be.”
Michael didn’t respond for a long moment then he nodded. “I understand and I’m sorry I jumped on you. You’re right, there are things you can’t tell her. But there are things you can and that’s what I was talking about. I think it’s important that you play it straight with her, Nick. She’s a special lady and I mean that in every sense of the word. There are a lot of women in the world, but damn few ladies.”
“You’re right and I don’t plan on letting her get away.”
They both stood as the buzzer to the front gate sounded. Nick walked out the front door and a few minutes later a van pulled around to the back of the house. Six men got out with Nick and came in the house. Michael got out of their way as two of them bagged the body in the den then went upstairs. The other four started checking the alarm systems and all the phones.
Half an hour later, the bodies had been loaded into the van and Nick stood outside, talking with the men. When he came back in the house Michael was waiting in the kitchen. “So?”
“So, the phones are tapped and the entire house is bugged.”
“But how’s that possible? Surely no one could have gotten in while we were here without us knowing.”
“Looks like they did, unless you want to claim credit.”
Michael rubbed his hands over his face. “You have any ideas?”
“Let’s just say we’re going to have to reevaluate our position and decide if we want to chance staying here or find another place. There is a safe house in the area if we need to use it.”
“I don’t think that’s our decision to make,” Michael said as he got up to get a pitcher of tea out of the refrigerator. “Lyra and Chelsey should have a vote in this.”
Nick nodded and sat down beside him. “Right now I just want to take a shower and relax. I can’t talk to her until then.”
Michael looked up as Nick started out of the room. “Relax? You can relax? Well, man, if you can do that then I wish you’d fill me in on your secret.”
Chapter Ten
Wednesday Morning—Sea Island
Nick was waiting in the kitchen when Lyra came downstairs. The sun was just coming up but he had been sitting there for several hours. She hadn’t given him a chance to talk to her the night before. Chelsey was almost hysterical and Lyra had insisted on staying by her side all night.
She walked past him without a word and fixed herself a cup of coffee then sat down across from him. Nick studied her for a moment in the dim light, thinking that even the first thing in the morning after going through a brush with death she held a unique appeal.
“Did you get any sleep?”
She shook her head and took a sip of coffee. “Not much. Chelsey’s not in very good shape. Having someone stick a gun to her head and threaten to blow her brains out is not something she was prepared for. I think she needs someone besides me to help her right now. I’m just not qualified and to be honest, I’m having a little trouble dealing with all this myself.”